8 June:The Group of Eight industrial powers are meeting with China, India and South Korea in Aomori in northern Japan today amid deepening worries over record oil prices.
The total of 11 nations involved in today’s discussions guzzle nearly two-thirds of the world energy.
Besides energy security, climate change will also be on the agenda for participating countries, which together release 65 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming.
The meeting is also expected to discuss an initiative for international cooperation on energy saving and developing clean energy, including setting up energy-saving plans by individual countries.
In a joint statement earlier, the participating countries called for scaling down of fuel subsidies, to be replaced wherever possible by better targeted policies for intended beneficiaries.
But China and India said they could only raise domestic rates gradually. India’s ambassador to Japan, Hemant Krishan Singh, who is representing the country at the talks, said it was unrealistic to abandon controls that help protect 110 crore people.
Oil prices shoot an all time high at $139
Crude oil price have shot up more than 11 US dollars and surged to a new record around 139 US dollars in New York trade on Saturday.
This is the biggest one-day jump of more than 8 per cent ever after smashing a series of price hurdles.
The higher burst on rising Middle East tensions also raised the prospect of accelerating inflation by adding to already strained transportation costs.
That gloomy outlook sent stocks tumbling, taking the Dow Jones industrials nearly down by 400 points. Courtsey : DD NEWS